Being John Malkovich (1999)

2.5 out of 4

Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Charlie Sheen, Orson Bean, Mark Kay Place

Director: Spike Jonze

Time: 112 mins

Critically praised when released late last year, Being John Malkovich is one of the most bizarre films I've ever seen. Not that being bizarre is a bad thing, but there are some events and characters in this movie that are just so out of this world it detracts from the story. Even knowing the basic premise of the film - a couple of office workers discover a portal into actor John Malkovich's head - doesn't prepare you for some of the later plot twists and weird happenings. The film is very funny in parts, but the humour is not dished out consistently. While true that this is not a comedy - it's more a surrealistic fantasy set in modern times - the writer and director probably should have aimed to create a full-blown laugh-fest to make some of the oddness seem appropriate. As it is, it seems like another film that has a lot of weirdness in it just to be weird and stand out from the rest of the pack. I'm sure scriptwriter Charlie Kaufman didn't intend it this way, and the film is certainly not without entertainment, but outlandishness will only go so far.

John Cusack plays Craig Schwartz, a devoted puppeteer who desperately wants to perform but doesn't have an outlet for his art. His wife, Lotte (Diaz), is a pet store employee who has a chimpanzee as a companion, amongst other wildlife. One day Craig decides to find some work and applies for a filing position at a company called LesterCorp. He is instantly attracted to another worker, Maxine (played by Keener), who rejects his advances. When he finds a secret passage that transports him inside John Malkovich's head for fifteen minutes, he and Maxine decide to use it as a means of making money, by allowing other people to go inside and become the actor. When Lotte tries it out and finds herself yearning to become a man, things really start to go weird. Maxine becomes attracted to Lotte, but only while Lotte is inside Malkovich, while Craig is so obsessed by his love for Maxine, he traps his wife inside the chimp's cage, and travels inside Malkovich so he can make love to Maxine! Wow!

The script by Kaufman is inventive, but the many wild fluctuations and developments left me feeling detached. What I've summarised as a brief plot outline above is only a teaser; later on, as an example, Malkovich becomes a famous puppeteer, even as a bunch of elder people are looking to prolong their existence by taking over his mind! Double-wow!

The cast of characters are equally weird. Cusack, one of the better performers of his generation (he was great in Grosse Pointe Blank), is adequate as Craig, but the way he goes off the bend in his pursuit of Maxine is jarring. Cameron Diaz is good in an unusual role as Lotte, a plain-looking woman who thinks she is a transsexual after her first experience being John Malkovich. Keener is also quite good as the cool, calculating Maxine, who uses everyone to (1) get to Malkovich, (2) make money, and (3) have a baby. By far the best role is John Malkovich, who is played by himself. It's fun to see a well-known actor being his normal person, then see him being lampooned, and then see him veering into Twilight Zone-ish dimensions. The scene where he goes inside himself is hilarious. There are also several cameos, from the likes of Charlie Sheen and Seven director David Fincher. First time director Jonze (recently seen as an actor in Three Kings) also appears as a rival puppeteer.

Though I'm not a big fan of arthouse films (which Being John Malkovich probably qualifies under), I can usually appreciate some of them if they're at least entertaining. American Beauty is a recent example of a film that probably had arthouse roots but was transformed into a very good picture which transcended mainstream tastes. It was also very entertaining. Cinema Paradiso, which some might also classify as arthouse (it's a foreign language film), is a masterpiece, and one of my favourites. It, too, was very entertaining. While Being John Malkovich is not boring - indeed, it has some very original humour - its eccentric deviations leave one bewildered and unsatisfied. I cannot give it the same praise that a lot of other critics have.

(c) Joe Wong